There are many advantages to the use of light emitting diodes (LEDs) as light sources in light fixtures to produce light efficiently. Many light fixtures have incorporated arrays of LED light sources often configured in a bar-shaped housing or module (also referred to as a “light bar”). While LEDs do produce light in a more efficient manner than previous light sources, one problem is that they are essentially a point source, such that unlike its predecessors, the light emitted by an LED does not spread out very much over a wide area.
Placing optics or diffuse covers alone over the LEDs can help to spread out the light being emitted by the light sources. Unfortunately each of these has its disadvantages. Placing a diffuse cover over the LEDs reduces the amount of overall light being emitted into the environment that is being illuminated. To correct this problem, more LEDs or more powerful LEDs have to be used, thereby increasing power consumption and reducing some of the efficiency gains achieved by using LEDs instead of other light sources.
The use of an optic placed over an LED or group of LEDs can help to spread the light out in the environment that is being illuminated. However, when a person looks up at the light fixture they still see a bunch of different point sources created by the light being emitted by each of the LEDs in the LED array. This problem, often referred to as pixilization, is generated by the significant contrast in the amount of light being generated by the LED when compared to the immediate area around the LED, which is not emitting any light. The high contrast between the portions of the fixture emitting light (the LEDs and lens) and the non-light emitting portions can generate unpleasant glare. Reducing the contrast between the light being emitted by the LEDs and the remaining portion of the light fixture facing the environment to be illuminated would provide an optical system that produces more aesthetically appealing light. Therefore, there is a need to increase the luminous area of the optical system. There is a further need to increase the luminous area of the optical system by using a portion of the light from the LEDs to illuminate the areas of the optical system surrounding the LEDs and lenses.